German Victory Parade in Belgrade

Image size: 1600 x 1200 pixel. 609 KB
Date: Sunday, 13 April 1941
Place: Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Heinz Fremke from Propaganda-Kompanie (PK) 691

House of the National Assembly in Belgrade – then and now. After nine SS men from the "Reich" Division used the general confusion and formally captured the Yugoslav capital on 12 April 1941, a victory parade of the true conqueror of the city, the 1st Armoured Group, was held on 13 April at noon. In the (old) photo, tanks of the Panzer-Regiment 15 / 11.Panzer-Division "Gespensterdivision" (Ghost Division) parade in front of their commanders: standing in the centre is Generaloberst Ewald von Kleist (commander of the armoured group), to his right is Generalmajor Ludwig Crüwell (divisional commander), and on the left, in black uniform, is Oberstleutnant Gustav-Adolf Riebel (commander of the division's panzer Regiment). The defeat of Belgrade was also celebrated in the "Song of Armoured Group Kleist": "We were the victors of Belgrade; we defeated all resistance, and broke up with a false state!" Crüwell later fought under Rommel and after the war became chairman of the Africa Corps Veterans Association; Riebel was killed in 1942 at Stalingrad – and von Kleist ended his life in Soviet captivity, as a war criminal, in 1954. At the spot from which these three officers once proudly watched their rolling tanks – today stand the civilians, waiting for a bus.

Source :

http://bandenkampf.blogspot.co.id/search?updated-min=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50

11. Panzer-Division Rests During Yugoslavian Campaign

Image size: 1600 x 988 pixel. 590 KB
Date: Sunday, 13 April 1941
Place: Yugoslavia
Photographer: Dr. Feitel (PK OKW)

German tank crews in the middle of the tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. E (produced 223 tanks) during the Balkan campaign (Yugoslavia) in 1941. Armament: gun 7.5cm KwK L/24. These guns were all armed PzKpfw IV until modifications Ausf.F2, after which it was replaced by a long-barreled gun 7.5cm KwK L/43 (length of 43 calibres). The ausf E was manufactured by Krupp-Gruson from September 1940 to April 1941. The panzer is attached to the 11. Panzer-Division, XIV. Panzerkorps (commanded by General der Infanterie Gustav von Wietersheim), 1. Panzergruppe under Generaloberst (Colonel General) Ewald von Kleist. It was the first version that featured Gepack Kasten (turret-mounted storage bins), which increased the amount of gear available to the tank crew. Spare parts, food, water, blankets, bridging supplies, and more were packed into these containers for sustained combat. 11th Panzer crossed into Yugoslavia at Pirot on April 8, 1941, leading the German attack. They took Nis on April 9 and entered Belgrade on April 13, hoisting the Swastika that night. The unit emblem of the 11th Panzer was a ghost (this must not be confused with the famed Gespenster Division, which was the 7th Panzer Division), which we can clearly see in the side of the Panzer IV.

Source:

http://albumwar2.com/photo-19391945/35-gallery/6802-german-medium-tank-pzkpfw-iv-during-the-balkan-campaign

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii128

Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf G and Ausf H in Bulgaria

Image size: 1600 x 1115 pixel. 350 KB
Date: Saturday, 5 April 1941
Place: Sofia, Bulgaria
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerkampfwagen III ausf G followed by an ausf H model moves through the city the day before the German invasion of the Balkans. The ausf G version was upgraded in mid-production with a 50mm gun. Earlier versions were retrofitted with the 50mm. The ausf H added better armor to defeat the British 2-pounder (40mm), the American 37mm and the Russian 45mm antitank guns. The pzkpfw III was reliable, relatively fast, and arguably the best tank of the first half of the war. The Invasion of Yugoslavia (code-name Directive 25 or Operation 25), also known as the April War (Croatian: Travanjski rat, Serbian/Bosnian: Aprilski rat, Slovene/Macedonian: Aprilska vojna) or the Balkan campaign (German: Balkanfeldzug), was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The invasion ended with the unconditional surrender of the Royal Yugoslav Army on 17 April 1941, annexation and occupation of the region by the Axis powers and the creation of the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH).

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Yugoslavia

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii118